Symphony Saturday – Mass Effect

Now to turn to a personal favourite franchise, and also a franchise in which I think the music does a very good job of setting the tone. The music calls to mind Vangelis, composer of Blade Runner, Chariots of Fire and more. You could argue that electronic music is just effective short-hand to say “it’s science fiction”, however I think that’s selling this music a bit short.

To quote Douglas Adams “Space is big. Really big.” In Mass Effect, that big space is there to be explored. Humans are newcomers in the game’s galactic society filled with all sorts of aliens, they still have a lot to learn, a lot to discover. Of course there’s danger out there too, and you’ve got to save the galaxy from it, because it’s a videogame.

And I think with just this piece of music, it already plants that idea in your head. Why not re-read that last paragraph while playing the music to see if it fits? Why not read it aloud with a dramatic voice-over? Why not close your eyes and think of space while the music’s on? Maybe that’s getting a little too into it but you can see what I mean right?